This invention relates generally to imploding plasma devices and in particular to methods and apparatus for imploding a plasma to achieve a longitudinally stable, consistent and reliable source of low frequency X-rays.
Imploding plasma devices are well known in which a stream or column of ionizable material is subjected to a sudden pulse of high voltage current causing it to ionize and collapse or implode to create a very high density plasma capable of emitting long wave length X-rays.
Such devices, however, although producing X-rays, give rise to plasmas which are unstable to the sausage and kink instabilities. These instabilities would cause the plasma to "sausage" or form into individual plasma segments and to "kink" or become irregularly shaped or curved along its longitudinal axis.
For the purpose of X-ray amplification by stimulated emission of radiation within a plasma, it is essential that the plasma be generally homogeneous or uniform and linearly or longitudinally stable.
The devices of the prior art were all designed to generate either a single jet of ionizable material which was then imploded or a single cylindrical column of ionizable material which was then imploded or compressed. In all the devices of the prior art, plasma instabilities were the primary problems that prevented lengthy containment of the plasma and forming or holding the plasma to a particular shape.